Efficient generation of non-classical photon pairs in a hot atomic ensemble

Abstract

We demonstrate the generation of non-classical photon pairs in a warm Rb87 atomic vapor cell with no buffer gas or polarization preserving coatings via spontaneous four-wave mixing. We obtain the photon pairs with a 1/e correlation time of 40 ns and the violation of Cauchy–Schwartz inequality by a factor of 23±3. This provides a convenient and efficient method to generate photon pair sources based on an atomic ensemble.